Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Karkonar

W atching Elaine go was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I’d commanded armies, fought in duels and battles. I’d sat at state dinners, not showing my anger at the studied insults our hosts offered my father. Those had been challenges I’d struggled to meet, but none of them compared to watching the human female walk away.

She will return to me. She promised. I tried holding onto that, but it did little to help. Elaine would face the universe alone aside from her flying cat, and I wouldn’t be able to help her.

As though summoned by the thought, Onyx landed on a nearby pipe with an inelegant thud and a look that said, ‘I meant to do that.’ He hissed at me, the box on his collar translating.

“Red Stupid.” It was the first time I’d seen him angry, and I did not like it. “Stupid. Fix!”

“I wish I could, Onyx.”

“Can. Will. Or Onyx Bites.”

The threat brought a sad smile to my face. “All I can promise is to do my best.”

This time the hiss went untranslated, and I wondered if it was a meaningless noise or if his collar censored him. It felt like he was swearing at me, anyway.

Then he turned and launched himself into the air, leaving me alone with my thoughts. That was the last place I wanted to be, so I pulled myself to my feet and dressed. Enough time wasted brooding on my fate. I had to meet my sister.

Without Elaine by my side, the market seemed empty and hollow. Crowds moved around me, but I felt like I was light years away. The stalls and shops, the gangs, and the performers — all had fascinated me. Now they might as well not exist.

At least now I’ll have an easier time with the throne, I thought. Numb like this, I’ll be able to take a lot more boredom.

Not the funniest joke, but I made myself chuckle anyway as I made my way toward the dock to watch for Arkari’s arrival. I found myself somewhere quiet and hard to spot and settled in to wait.

Her yacht, when it turned up, was unmistakable. It had the sleek lines of a racing ship, the swooping infrastructure, the complex decorations that hid very functional shield generators. Nothing else at the dock looked even a tenth as expensive, fast, or dangerous. I’d never seen her ship, but that yacht had Princess Arkari written all over it. Stardust, the nameplate read, though some wit had painted eat my above it.

It caused quite a stir when such a beautiful ship floated in to dock. Roughly half the dock stopped to stare at the unusual sight. Some were simply gawking, but I knew there would be pirates planning to steal the ship if they thought the odds favored them.

That seemed much less likely once the airlock opened and Arkari’s entourage emerged. A pair of Drall came first, the bulky quadrupeds lumbering and snarling at the crowd to clear a space. Powerful muscles wrapped in skin thick enough to turn most weapons aside, they made ferocious bodyguards and terrible enemies. As soon as they appeared, every pirate in sight realized they had urgent business somewhere else.

Behind the Drall came four Arisran Royal Guards, their faces hidden behind holovisors that let them see in every direction. They wore the traditional red and gold armor, though they’d exchanged their pikes for more effective pulse carbines. Still, the guards were much more for show than actual fighting, and I doubted they’d be much use in protecting my sister if something happened. The Royal Guard had a reputation as elite troops, but it had been decades since they’d done anything to earn it. They looked intimidating, though. For bodyguards, that was often the most important thing.

Following them, flanked by Chrichri mercenaries, came my sister. Princess Arkari had, for some reason, dressed for a party. In her sleek black dress, the skirt scandalously short for a princess, and black evening gloves with a silver vine design running up them, she’d have fit in among the girls dancing at Harry’s Moon’s impromptu clubs. Though anyone with an eye for fashion would know her dress was worth more than most of the ships docked beside hers. A strange choice. The outfit she’d worn when we spoke had looked more practical.

I’d never understand my sister’s fashion sense, though, and I didn’t need to. She was here, and I could go home. Or at least the closest thing to home that existed without my mate in its halls.

As I was debating how to approach, she took the initiative and messaged my comm. I’d almost forgotten about it, useless as it had been until now. No one using the right frequencies had been in range. But the Stardust had access to the royal codes, so now Arkari and I could talk. Or at least text.

Prince Karkonar, etc., etc., I hope this message finds you in one damned piece, and you’ve managed to go one day without being kidnapped, killed, or confined. If you’re free, meet me at the below location, I’ve rented a secure meeting place. If you’re not, then I guess wait for me to come rescue you?

Arkari, Princess and your long-suffering sister.

I glared at the hologram message. Long-suffering? Insufferable would be closer to the truth. I shook my head to clear it of our sibling rivalry. This was unfair of me. She was riding to my rescue, so let her have her moment of smugness. I owed her considerably more than that.

The coordinates that followed led me into a warren of twisting corridors made from smaller ships crudely welded to the habitat and converted into storage space. Some of the ships were still in the process of being looted for parts, which seemed par for the course on Harry’s Moon.

I did my best to stay out of sight as I passed through. Getting caught here at the finish line would be a disaster, not least because Arkari would never let me live it down.

The empty corridors were sparsely lit by flickering bulbs, which cast long, eerie shadows. Unpadded metal creaked underfoot, and the stale air tasted of oil and rot. Together, that gave the place a subtle horror touch, and I checked for ambushes as I approached my destination. I frowned and paused — it wasn’t like me to get spooked.

I got kidnapped a short while ago, I reminded myself . Maybe a little paranoia is called for.

The door I sought was as isolated as you could get, and unguarded, too. It slid open at my approach, and inside lurked one of Arkari’s Drall bodyguards. He didn’t posture or waste my time asking questions, just nodded me through to the small cargo bay. And there, leaning against a crate and looking as smug as I’d ever seen her, was my sister.

“Kark! There you are,” she said, her smile broadening as she straightened up. “Having a fun holiday?”

As always, I bristled at the nickname — no one else got away with calling me Kark. At least I could respond in kind. “Ark, thank you for coming to help. As holidays go, I’ve had better, and I intend to have words with the organizers. Do we have any clue who’s behind it?”

Her smile twitched as though I’d said something funny, but she didn’t let me in on the joke. “We don’t know much, and it’s been long enough that I can’t see much changing. Unless you have useful clues to add?”

“I have some information. Royal Arisran Intelligence might make something of it, though I can’t get anywhere.”

“Ah, good. That’s good.” She didn’t sound convinced, though her smile stayed, and no sign of doubt appeared on her face. “Well, let’s get you home so you can give the lazy agents at RAI the information they need to crack the case. It’s not like they’ll ever solve it on their own.”

“Hah. I shall have to fix that when I sit on the throne.”

She shook her head. “I think, darling brother, that the next king will have more pressing matters. The Dyb Canal project is drastically short of resources, the spaceport needs to be refitted for larger ships, and there are a thousand other things that we’ve let slide.”

“Wait, I thought the Dyb was on schedule?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, because the project managers cannibalized the next two decades’ funding to keep it there. That’s not sustainable!”

I frowned. That was a project I’d tried to stay on top of, but now that I thought about it, all I knew came from the project managers themselves. Give me prey to chase down, or a foe to kill in battle, but spare me the paperwork.

Of course, that wasn’t possible for a king. I winced at the thought of it.

Arkari caught my pained expression and gave me an odd look, mixing sympathy with annoyance. Then she threw her arms around me in a fierce embrace, catching me by surprise. We weren’t close, and I couldn’t remember the last time we’d hugged.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll take care of everything for you.”

“What do you mean?”

Her only answer was a sad laugh, and I felt a stinging pain in my neck. The world turned strange around me, warping and twisting, colors bleeding into one another.

Oh, I thought as my knees buckled . That makes sense. Then I slumped to the floor, and darkness rolled over me like a fog.